Port Arthur man convicted of killing wife in Waco

Updated 11:19 am, Tuesday, April 22, 2014

WACO, Texas (AP) — A Southeast Texas man who met his wife as a pen pal while he was in prison has been convicted of killing her in front of her child.

Prosecutors in Waco are seeking the death penalty in the punishment phase that began Tuesday for Carnell Petetan (PET'-uh-tahn) Jr. of Port Arthur.

Jurors late Monday convicted Petetan of capital murder in the 2012 fatal shooting of his estranged spouse, Kimberly, during an argument at her Waco apartment. Investigators say Carnell Petetan abducted his wife's then-9-year-old daughter. The girl was rescued by police in Bryan.

Prosecutors say Petetan served nearly 20 years in prison for attempted murder. He met the victim as a pen pal and the couple wed in 2010. The September 2012 slaying happened several months after Petetan's release.